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In the previous chapters we saw three experiences of Abraham: being called, living by faith, and knowing grace. From this chapter onward, we will see Abraham’s fourth experience—having fellowship with God.
In Abraham’s third experience God did something in him, which was to circumcise him (Gen. 17:9-13, 23-27). The spiritual meaning of circumcision is to cut off the ability of the flesh. With Hagar, Abraham relied on his own strength to fulfill God’s promise, because he still had strength in his flesh. He offended God because he used the wrong strength, not because his intentions were bad. Instead of depending on God’s strength and waiting for God’s timing, Abraham followed Sarah’s suggestion and used his own strength to fulfill God’s promise (16:2). Abraham’s strength was his flesh. His problem was in the strength of his flesh.
After Ishmael was brought forth, God put Abraham aside for thirteen years. During these years Abraham did not do anything memorable before God. Abraham was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was brought forth. God did not appear to him until thirteen years later, when he was ninety-nine years old (v. 16; 17:1). God waited this long so that He could use time to let Abraham’s flesh fail and decline. The ability and methods of our flesh cannot stand the test of God’s time. Sometimes we are full of ideas, but God stops us for a period of time so that our ideas fail, and the ability of our flesh naturally decays.
The natural decay of Abraham’s flesh was not sufficient. God needed to do something more; He needed to circumcise Abraham’s flesh. Without circumcision the natural decaying of the flesh is insufficient for man to recognize God’s working, to know how much God hates man’s flesh, and to realize that according to God’s ordination, man’s flesh cannot fulfill God’s promise. From a natural perspective Abraham’s flesh had decayed, but God still needed a definite expression in Abraham. This expression involved a dealing with his flesh to cut it off. When Abraham’s flesh was cut off, he changed. Because he was no longer the same person, his name also needed to be changed.
The changing of a called one’s name is not an arbitrary matter. A person’s name is changed when he has a definite experience before God in which he has a turn. This turn is typically the putting off of the old man and the manifestation of the new man. Hence, the called one gives up his old name and gains a new name (v. 5; 32:27-28). This was Abraham’s experience. He was originally called Abram, but later his name was changed to Abraham. The meaning of Abram is “exalted father,” and the meaning of Abraham is “father of a multitude” (17:5). Abraham’s name was changed because his person changed. Previously, he bore the flesh, but now his flesh had been dealt with. Previously, he may not have sinned, but he relied on his own strength to fulfill God’s promise. Now his strength had been cut off by God, and he needed to submit to God’s grace for the fulfillment of God’s promise. Abraham would have been able to honestly tell God, “You are the One who will fulfill Your promise. You will fulfill Your promise through me. You will do it in me. If You do not come to fulfill Your promise, I will have no strength. I do not have any spiritual strength, and I do not have any physical strength. I have no ideas, way, or methods; I am a circumcised person. The strength of my old man has been cut off, and I am no longer the same person. I am now a new man with a new name.”
After putting off the flesh and having a change in name, a called one enters into the fourth experience, the fourth stage. The first experience, which is also the first stage, is to be called. Abraham went to Canaan when he was called. In Canaan he began the second experience and entered into the second stage, which is living by faith. In this stage Abraham learned that God is dependable and that God bore every burden in his life. Because God had called him, He would also take care of him. Abraham’s experiences proved that God bore his burdens and took care of everything. The second stage was completed when Abraham had properly learned the lessons in this experience.
In the third stage Abraham learned the third experience, which is knowing grace for the fulfillment of God’s promise and the attainment of God’s purpose. What Abraham had, did, and was capable of doing could not be used to fulfill God’s promise. It was God who came to fulfill His promise. God passed through Abraham and used him to fulfill His promise. In this lesson Abraham realized that his natural ability, his strength, had no place in fulfilling God’s will and that they were not pleasing to God but instead offended Him. From our perspective, Abraham’s going down to Egypt and lying were great sins, but these did not kindle God’s anger toward him. As soon as he recovered from his fall, God appeared to him (12:10-17; 13:14-18). It is easy to recover from one’s fall, and it is easy to recover God’s appearing. Abraham may not have thought that it was wrong to rely on his own strength to fulfill God’s promise, and those around him may have also thought that what he did was good, because it was for the fulfilling of God’s promise. However, what Abraham did not only displeased God but also offended Him.
We must see that only God can fulfill His promise and accomplish His purpose. Man’s strength has no place in God’s promise and purpose. Whenever man tries to use his strength to accomplish God’s will or to please God, he offends God more than if he had committed a great sin. Most Christians do not realize this. People think that anything they do to please God must be good, regardless of whether their ability is used. However, we must remember that our strength cannot be used to carry out God’s will or accomplish His purpose. It must be God who works, and it must be His strength. Abraham learned this lesson. As a result, there was a mark on his body, the sign of circumcision. Now he could no longer use his own strength. He dared not rely on the strength in his flesh, and he dared not employ his own strength again. If he used his own strength again, he may have needed to wait another thirteen years for God’s appearing. Abraham no longer had his own strength, and he also had a mark on his body, circumcision, to remind him that he must not use his own strength. Those who have been dealt with cannot use their flesh, even if the desire arises. Abraham learned the third experience and began the experience of the fourth stage.
By being dealt with by God and putting off his flesh and old man, Abraham entered into fellowship with God. Although God had often appeared to him before this, those appearings were brief, not prolonged. Moreover, Abraham was not living in God’s appearing, because God’s appearing was an occasional encounter. However, beginning in Genesis 18 God’s appearing was continually with Abraham; Abraham was constantly living in God’s appearing. The interaction between God and Abraham was very intimate. They were like next-door neighbors. Before Genesis 18 it seems that God lived in one place while Abraham lived in another and that God visited Abraham occasionally. Even though God appeared to Abraham, it was possible for thirteen years to elapse before He appeared again. It is mysterious that from chapter 18 onward, Abraham and God seemed to be with each other. Although they were not living together, they were very close and constantly had intimate interactions. At this point in his journey of following God, Abraham was in the fourth stage—fellowshipping with God.
Genesis 18 is the first place in the entire Bible that speaks of God’s appearing in the likeness of man, with the image, body, and position of a man and even eating human food (vv. 1-8). When God came to Abraham, He had the complete likeness of a man. That day God ate cakes, curds, milk, and a calf. He ate what humans eat and did not give the slightest impression that He was God. Abraham thought that the three men he welcomed were merely passing by, and he gave them hospitality. Abraham did not realize that one of them was Jehovah. One of the men said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and then Sarah your wife shall have a son” (v. 10) and “Is anything too marvelous for Jehovah?” (v. 14). It was at that point that Abraham realized that one of the men was Jehovah. Abraham surely was astonished. Can you imagine what the interaction between Abraham and God was like? They were as friends interacting with each other.
The Bible says that Abraham was a friend of God (2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; James 2:23). The most obvious example of Abraham being a friend of God is in Genesis 18 when God came to Abraham. Abraham gave God hospitality the way that he would give a friend hospitality. While giving this hospitality, Abraham received God’s speaking. Afterward, when God was leaving, Abraham walked with Him to send Him away (v. 16). This sending away is very meaningful, for it displayed a feeling of reluctance to part with a friend. For example, after visiting with a friend, you may walk him to the door to see him off. At the door your friend may say goodbye. However, you are still reluctant to let him go and want to go further with him, so you walk with him from the entrance of your house to the road and then to the station so that you may spend more time to talk. It was while Abraham was sending God off that God spoke what was on His heart. God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (v. 17). God was about to go down and see Sodom and judge it. No one on the earth knew of this matter, and God had to let His friend know. If God had hidden this from Abraham, they would not have been considered friends. It would have been inexcusable for God to destroy Sodom without telling His friend. However, God did not utter these words while they were inside the tent. If Abraham had gone with Jehovah only to the entrance of the tent, God would not have said anything.
When God visited Abraham, He was seeking a person on the earth who would intercede for a matter that was hidden in His heart. When God wants to do something on earth, particularly when it concerns His people, He must find an intercessor. It seems as if God cannot work without an intercessor. On one hand, God wanted to destroy Sodom, but on the other hand, He wanted to save Lot. Hence, He needed someone to intercede for Lot. God visited Abraham to see what kind of heart His friend Abraham had. If His friend had been cold, lacking warmth, God would not have opened the things that were hidden in His heart.
When we visit a friend, there may be a matter for which we need to seek his help, but because we fear that he will not agree, we talk aimlessly at first. We converse and wait until we have finished eating and are about to take leave before we consider speaking what is on our heart. It is at this point that we can tell how much of a friend he truly is. If he is a genuine friend, he will enthusiastically send us off. This will lead us to speak of the things on our heart. If his manner is cold, we will let it go. God tested Abraham in such a way. When God was about to leave, Abraham was reluctant to let Him go. Hence, God spoke what was on His heart. God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” God viewed Abraham as His bosom friend, His intimate friend. Furthermore, God needed Abraham to cooperate with Him on earth and intercede for Lot, one of His people. The two angels understood and left quickly because God needed to have an intimate conversation with Abraham. Their leaving opened the place and time for Abraham to come even closer to God (v. 22). Only then did Abraham converse intimately with God. This is fellowship. Those who have had such an experience can confirm this. Because we have been called to follow God, He will bring us to the stage where we become His intimate friends. Some may say that this is too high and too miraculous of an experience. However, if we follow God closely, we will enter into this kind of intimate fellowship with Him. This is not too high. It is simply entering into another level of experience.
At this time Abraham entered the fourth experience, which is entering into fellowship with God. Abraham truly had fellowship with God. The place of this fellowship was in Hebron by the oaks of Mamre, where he had pitched his tent (13:18). When God visited him, he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. However, the two angels who went to find Lot found him sitting at the entrance of the city. The entrance of the tent is in contrast to the entrance of the city. Abraham had the position of a sojourner on this earth, but Lot had fallen into the worldly city.
Those who are at the entrance of the tent can have fellowship with God. Those who are friends of God are outside the world. They acknowledge that they are merely sojourners. Their life on earth is temporary. They dwell in tents. The tent in Hebron is the standing on which the called ones have fellowship with God. The moment this standing is lost, their fellowship with God is immediately broken. The tent in Hebron was Abraham’s standing when he had fellowship with God as His intimate friend.
